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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
“Oh, the bright young people who come here, with their bright, lively imaginations. They do nothing all day long but think of ways to kill….I think it does something to our minds. Imagination should be used for something other than pondering murder….”
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
i read this for a local bookclub and like many have already said, the way the book ends was both unsatisfactory and also intentional in it’s lingering in a way that didn’t suit my preferences.
i think if the book had gone deeper into the characters or the world, i wouldn’t have minded the ending, but because this read like a slice of life novel where we didn’t see the establishment of the world or the end of the plot lines/character arcs, i found myself wanting more.
ultimately this was just fine.
i think if the book had gone deeper into the characters or the world, i wouldn’t have minded the ending, but because this read like a slice of life novel where we didn’t see the establishment of the world or the end of the plot lines/character arcs, i found myself wanting more.
ultimately this was just fine.
3.5 stars. A very unique story idea, and written weirdly, as usual for Delany.
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Fascinating read.
To get it out of the way, admittedly there was a point in which I was dithering about whether or not to push on with this story. Whilst I love the fact that the world itself isn't heavily dropped on the reader, I couldn't help but fall away from the story for a while, failing to care about certain aspects. Even in later scenes, there were areas that niggled at me and felt somewhat thin.
But, needless to say, I'm glad I kept reading. Though I've seen a few comments about this feeling dated, I really can't relate- it feels bizarrely modern for its time. Beautifully written, clever, and exhilarating. The unravelling of certain scenes/revelations was gorgeous, close enough to giving goosebumps.
By no means perfect, as I've mentioned, but I thoroughly enjoyed this all the same.
To get it out of the way, admittedly there was a point in which I was dithering about whether or not to push on with this story. Whilst I love the fact that the world itself isn't heavily dropped on the reader, I couldn't help but fall away from the story for a while, failing to care about certain aspects. Even in later scenes, there were areas that niggled at me and felt somewhat thin.
But, needless to say, I'm glad I kept reading. Though I've seen a few comments about this feeling dated, I really can't relate- it feels bizarrely modern for its time. Beautifully written, clever, and exhilarating. The unravelling of certain scenes/revelations was gorgeous, close enough to giving goosebumps.
By no means perfect, as I've mentioned, but I thoroughly enjoyed this all the same.
There are two types of codes, ciphers, and true codes. In the first, letters, or symbols that stand for letters, are shuffled and juggled according to a pattern. In the second, letters, words, or groups of words are replaced by other letters, symbols, or words. A code can be one type or the other, or a combination. But both have this in common: once you find the key, you just plug it in and out come logical sentences. A language, however, has its own internal logic, its own grammar, its own way of putting thoughts together with words that span various spectra of meaning. There is no key you can plug in to unlock the exact meaning. At best you can get a close approximation.
After a soft patch the weather turned greedy. The humidity laps at you, mocks your sweat. I was left pink and dripping form the ten minutes it requires to mow our lawn. Weeding and sweeping left me parched. I gulped down some tap water and turned my attentions to this jewel. Not your neighborly space opera nor is Babel-17 Ted Cruz's Starship Troopers. This is an evocation on language and identity, it purposes and provides. There is a rite to Delany's reign: he is impossibly prescient. He is prophetic without the store issue black fire, he is the Ark of Kristeva, the deft Derridean dance of Helene and JL(Nancy). he fathoms and fugues where we stumble and scratch.
Some future space conflict has raged, punctuated with halts and sieges. A code is discovered which may be signalling sabotage. A poet is assigned to resolve such and that's where things both twist and are unfolded. Paradoxes are the accepted currency here.
After a soft patch the weather turned greedy. The humidity laps at you, mocks your sweat. I was left pink and dripping form the ten minutes it requires to mow our lawn. Weeding and sweeping left me parched. I gulped down some tap water and turned my attentions to this jewel. Not your neighborly space opera nor is Babel-17 Ted Cruz's Starship Troopers. This is an evocation on language and identity, it purposes and provides. There is a rite to Delany's reign: he is impossibly prescient. He is prophetic without the store issue black fire, he is the Ark of Kristeva, the deft Derridean dance of Helene and JL(Nancy). he fathoms and fugues where we stumble and scratch.
Some future space conflict has raged, punctuated with halts and sieges. A code is discovered which may be signalling sabotage. A poet is assigned to resolve such and that's where things both twist and are unfolded. Paradoxes are the accepted currency here.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wonderful book! I don't care that the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (the idea that language shapes perception to such an extent that thinking in a different language gives you a different perception) is now disproved. SF is all about the scientific method. And Delany exploration of a fascinating world in which the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis works and his journey into the human condition, is science-fiction at its best.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Read this one for a local sci-fi book club - it’s not one I would have chosen on my own but I did end up really liking it. It’s a book about a poet tasked with decoding recorded transmissions and discovering a language that was a weapon for a war.
The world building and philosophical discussion of language and how language shapes our interpretation of reality was fascinating, if inaccurate based on current linguistic theories. The writing style was also really interesting, some parts being in prose. Sometimes the writing style was hard to follow - this is not by any means a straightforward book. I was expecting more misogyny based on the time of writing but I actually really liked the female main character, Rydra - she was brilliant and engaging. The way the men around her thought of her was often objectifying but it wasn’t notably worse than books from the 80s or 90s or even some from the present day. I wasn’t expecting the fatphobia but eh.
Where this book really fell short for me was that it didn’t feel like the side characters or the stakes of the war were fleshed out enough. It’s a short book and I think it could have used another section to fully flesh out more of the world and characters.
The world building and philosophical discussion of language and how language shapes our interpretation of reality was fascinating, if inaccurate based on current linguistic theories. The writing style was also really interesting, some parts being in prose. Sometimes the writing style was hard to follow - this is not by any means a straightforward book. I was expecting more misogyny based on the time of writing but I actually really liked the female main character, Rydra - she was brilliant and engaging. The way the men around her thought of her was often objectifying but it wasn’t notably worse than books from the 80s or 90s or even some from the present day. I wasn’t expecting the fatphobia but eh.
Where this book really fell short for me was that it didn’t feel like the side characters or the stakes of the war were fleshed out enough. It’s a short book and I think it could have used another section to fully flesh out more of the world and characters.